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How to use your quote to close the sale!

Depending on the nature of your business, you can spend a long time preparing and writing proposals and quotes.

I’ve spoken before about how easy it is to get wrapped up in proposal writing, and agonising over every little detail and nuance in case you include/exclude something that is vital to you winning (or losing) the contract.

Often, the proposal is important, because it is something that will be looked over by other decision-makers in your absence.

However, sometimes sending a quote/proposal to a potential client is just putting another stage in the sales cycle on the journey to the client still saying no.

Sending a proposal out can mess with your head! You still think the sale is alive, but you don’t know whether it is kicking and screaming or limping by on a life-support machine! Or, indeed if it as dead as a door-nail but you are just delaying the inevitable answer.

If the rest of your client meeting hasn’t gone great, then sending a proposal isn’t going to resurrect it – put bluntly, words on paper will never be more convincing that you, so if you haven’t convinced your client to use you, then your proposal certainly won’t!

So, save yourself time and effort clogging up your sales pipe-line with pointless proposals and quotes.

If a client says “Send me a quote!” you need to find out what is going on in their head – do they really want your help or are they wasting your time?

Ask them “Am I right in thinking the quote is just a confirmation of the order?”

A great little question that will definitely give you the answer that will save you time. If they say YES then you know you’ve got your business! Anything less than YES and you will be able to easily judge whether they are wasting your time, or if you need to revisit a part of your sales pitch that hasn’t quite convinced them yet, hence their hesitation in saying yes.

Using a request for a quote/proposal like this will save you time and help you close your sale – a win on both accounts!